‘It was a great honour and a thrill to be considered in that group of people,’ says Bill Wogden who started his career at South Muskoka Curling and Golf Club
Bill Wogden has managed to make a career out of a sport he loves
His resulting commitment to the game of golf has earned him a spot in the PGA of Ontario Hall of Fame Class of 2025. He enjoyed a “wonderful evening” during his induction ceremony at Glen Abbey Golf Club on Oct. 30.
“It was a great honour and a thrill to be considered in that group of people,” says Wogden, who served as head golf professional at the Barrie Country Club, retiring at the end of the 2018.
Wogden started his career as an assistant professional at South Muskoka Curling & Golf Club in 1979 while finishing at Humber College, participating in one of the very first golf management programs.
He moved onto The National Golf Club of Canada in Woodbridge, working with Ben Kern in 1981 where he spent “10 incredible years” and was encouraged us to play and improve.
“It really gave me a great foundation for my career,” he says of the experience.
From there he became the inaugural head professional at Royal Woodbine Golf when it opened in the fall of 1990. But within a couple of years it went into receivership.
With a two-year-old at home and a second on the way, Wogden considers himself fortunate to soon land in Barrie.
“Barrie Country Club was one of the few golf clubs looking for a professional for the ‘92 season,” he recalls. “Barrie Country Club took a chance on me and it paid off wonderfully for the both of us.”
After a year of commuting from Toronto, the Wogdens found a home nearby looking over Cartwright Park which they adored. He recalls that first Halloween when they expected 40 to 50 kids, losing count after 220 children came to their threshold.
“We were quickly welcomed to the new neighbourhood,” he recalls. “It worked out so well we never moved.”
When he arrived, the club had restricted play to those over 12 years old and women were not allowed to play until mid-morning on the weekends. And smoking was permitted in the clubhouse.
“The board was receptive of my ideas” to lower the age, he says.
Equality of membership followed a couple of years later. Smoking was then banned in the pro shop and later it was prohibited in all areas.
He remembers one of the golfers, Dr. Harold Smith, playing well into his 90s. At age 91, he got his first hole-in-one.
Younger golfers now play regularly resulting in a more family-friendly atmosphere, which includes all ages. The club has long hosted women’s days, bringing together golfers from across Simcoe County. There’s also a one-day junior tournament with 120 golfers representing their respective clubs.
Just over decade or so ago, the crew at the club reviewed the many events hosted at the Barrie Country Club, realizing that included every provincial championship but never a national one. So, in 2014, Barrie hosted the week-long Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship for golfers aged 25 and up.
“It put Barrie on a national level as a host for a national championship,” Wogden says with pride.
The Barrie club had originally existed as a nine-hole facility on the property that is now home to city’s jewel, Sunnidale Park. In 1969, it moved to its current, larger facility on St. Vincent Street, which included five sheets of curling.
By the end of the century, the clubhouse needed to be replaced. The club passed a motion in 2006 to build a new clubhouse and end the curling program, demolishing the rink to make space for the new clubhouse. Former mayor Willard Kinzie had the honour of throwing the last stone at the Barrie Country Club.
Members transitioned to the new, larger facility that provides an envious vista of the course well ahead of the club’s 100th anniversary in 2013.
Now, in retirement, Wogden remains active. The induction puts him back on the PGA selection committee, helping to evaluate future members on their overall contribution to the sport.
Soon after retiring, Wogden became assistant coach of the Georgian College golf team. He was named head coach two years later in 2021, which keeps him busy in the fall. In July and August, he’s involved with the local junior tour, working with seven local clubs.
There’s also some travel and lots of time spent with his two-year-old granddaughter.
And then there’s the game itself.
“I love to play,” says Wogden, who logs about 100 rounds every season in Barrie and the surrounding area.
“All the years at the Barrie Country Club were tremendous,” including the many relationships he developed and the staff he worked with and the camaraderie he enjoyed with the team and club members, he recalls.
“That’s what I probably miss the most.”
Bill Wogden celebrates his third hole-in-one at the Barrie Country Club on Hole No. 5 in September 2024.
